Don’t know if this is apocryphal, but I have heard parts of it quoted to me enough times that I’m willing to assume that most of it is 90% true. Yogi Berra Explains Jazz Interviewer: Can you explain jazz? Yogi: I can’t, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong part, its right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it’s wrong. Interviewer: I don’t understand. Yogi: Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can’t understand it. It’s too complicated. That’s what’s so simple about it. Interviewer: Do you understand it? Yogi: No. That’s why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn’t know anything about it. Interviewer: Are there any great jazz players alive today? Yogi: No. All the great jazz players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead. Some would kill for it. Interviewer: What is syncopation? Yogi: That’s when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In jazz, you don’t hear notes when they happen because that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be jazz, but only if they’re the same as something different from...

I talked a lot about my students this semester. WANNA HEAR ‘EM? They put a Soundcloud page together and several students uploaded some of their work. I would point out ones I personally enjoyed, but feel that’s not sporting. I will say that the class cranked out over 100 songs (not counting the revisions), collaborated, wrote analyses, journaled daily, and gave final presentations. Unreal. https://soundcloud.com/yalesongwritingsem Please feel free to like, share, and tweet them...

BUY IT ON ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mike-errico/id3567281 From “Tonight I Drink You All,” by Mike Errico | www.errico.com Happy I’m always happy That’s ‘cause I’m happy to be here in New York Happy Everybody’s smiling That’s ‘cause they’re happy to be here in New York And the traffic seems to pass me by And the cabbies yell their languages I bet they’re saying hi Hi Happy When I feel happy We all seem happy to be here in New York Family We’re one big family Big happy family of New York And everybody’s got a pamphlet for me And I say I can’t afford it, but they give it to me free (Whistle) And the waitresses will all become famous And they’ll lock their arms and sing “Can you blame us if we’re happy And since we’re happy We hope you’re happy to be here in New York” Well I’m happy But since you’re asking I’d be more happy if you lived here in New York Tune in for music, shows, announcements, giveaways, videos and all that stuff, here: Facebook || Twitter || YouTube || Bandcamp || Pandora Tallboy 7, Inc. Box 20463 NY NY...